Third Woman Accuses Ed Westwick of Sexual Assault

A third woman has accused Ed Westwick of sexual assault—and her story has a connection to the first accusation against the British actor: a producer named Kaine Harling, who allegedly facilitated two of the women’s meetings with Westwick.

Creative producer Rachel Eck told BuzzFeed that back in 2014, the same year both of Westwick’s previous accusers claim he raped them, her ex-boyfriend Kaine Harling invited her over to a hotel. Excited by the prospect of getting back together, she went. She was a 23-year-old executive assistant at the time. On the way, however, Eck said that Harling informed her that his friend, Westwick, was there with him. Harling is also the producer who Westwick’s first accuser, Kristina Cohen,claims brought her to the actor’s home in 2014 the night he allegedly raped her. (Westwick has denied both previous rape accusations.)

Westwick, Eck alleges, asked her to bring a friend, but all of her friends were asleep. (It was after midnight.) Repeatedly throughout the night, she claims, Westwick would “try to kiss me or kind of push me up against the wall” whenever Harling left the room. Each time, Eck says, she pushed the actor off and informed him that she was dating Harling. The producer, however, allegedly rebuffed Eck’s concerns, claiming Westwick “didn’t mean it.” After Eck said she was leaving and Harling allegedly convinced her to stay, Eck says that she followed Harling into a bedroom where they found Westwick, who she said “pulled me onto the bed and aggressively groped me. I shoved him off as quickly as I could and left.”

Westwick has denied both rape accusations against him. Following the second rape accusation from former actress Aurélie Wynn, the actor wrote, “It is disheartening and sad to me that as a result of two unverified and provably untrue social media claims, there are some in this environment who could ever conclude that I have had anything to do with such vile and horrific conduct. I have absolutely not, and I am cooperating with the authorities so that they can clear my name as soon as possible.” Westwick also claimed to have never met Cohen. Neither Westwick’s manager nor Harling has responded to V.F.’s request for comment on this story.

Cohen, who didn’t name Harling in her original accusation but later revealed his identity to The Hollywood Reporter, recalled him taking her to Westwick’s home—and said that after her rape, he “put the blame on me”:

I wanted to leave when Ed suggested “we should all f--k.” But the
producer didn’t want to make Ed feel awkward by leaving. Ed insisted
we stay for dinner. I said I was tired and wanted to leave, trying to
get out of what was already an uncomfortable situation. Ed suggested I
nap in the guest bedroom. The producer said we would stay for just
another 20 more minutes to smooth everything over, and then we could
leave.

So I went and laid down in the guest room where I eventually fell
asleep. I was woken up abruptly by Ed on top of me, his fingers
entering my body. I told him to stop, but he was strong. I fought him
off as hard as I could but he grabbed my face in his hands, shaking
me, telling me he wanted to f--k me. I was paralyzed, terrified. I
couldn’t speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me.
It was a nightmare, and the days following weren’t any better.

The producer put the blame on me, telling me I was an active
participant. Telling me that I can’t say anything because Ed will have
people come after me, destroy me, and that I could forget about an
acting career. Saying there’s no way I can go around saying Ed “raped”
me and that I don’t want to be “that girl.” And for the longest time,
I believed him. I didn’t want to be “that girl.”

Meanwhile, Wynn alleged that she and a few other people were at Westwick’s rental property until early in the morning, when they decided to get some sleep. “And like Kristina, I said no and he pushed me face down and was powerless under his weight,” Wynn wrote. “I was wearing a one piece bathing suit that he ripped, I was in complete shock, I am also very tiny.”

The L.A.P.D. is already investigating the rape claims against Westwick. The BBC released a statement Friday saying it had canceled the drama Ordeal by Innocence, starring Westwick, and that the actor had paused filming the comedy White Gold.